Agilent Splits HP DNA Again

Agilent has already identified a path to splitting its IT systems and real estate as part of the plan. "We have a lot of regulatory and approval processes to go through in many countries, and that's the gating item to the final completion of the deal," said Sullivan.

Ron Nersesian, who has been Agilent's president and chief operating officer, is the CEO-designate of the new standalone test company. Previously Nersesian ran Agilent's T&M business and helped it develop more modular gear to compete with the likes of National Instruments, said Jessy Cavazos, test and measurement analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

On the conference call, Nersesian said his goals are to focus on a successful spin out and organic growth, leaving acquisitions on the back burner. Over the next several months he expects to name a new board, starting with a non-executive director, and help find a new name and brand for the company.

Both companies will use the same compensation methods. However, the higher growth targets of the life sciences business compared to the mature T&M unit may result in differences going forward. One Wall Street analyst on the call worried aloud about competitors hiring away key employees from the new T&M group.

Cavazos of Frost & Sullivan said the spin out would be good for the T&M group. It is still arguably the largest T&M company with the possible exception of Danaher whose independent Tektronix and Fluke units are usually counted separately.

The new T&M company can "leverage more R&D dollars for its own business [rather than funding the medical unit's growth], and they need to be more competitive," she said.

In February, Agilent lost to a competitor a big deal to sell test gear to a wireless OEM in North America. Test gear for wireless is a hot growth area.

Rohde & Schwarz, a private German firm has strength in wireless and has grown to nearly the size of Agilent's T&M unit. Smaller competitors such as Japan's Anritsu and Teledyne-LeCroy are also showing strength in wireless, she added.

According to reports, Agilent shares were up 6.5 percent to $52.52 in early trading Thursday. As of Wednesday's close, the stock was up 20 percent so far this year.

We already have a generation of engineers who think HP has alweays been a computer company and Agilent has always been the test and measurement company. Now we'll have a generation of enginers who will think the company to be named later will have always been there making test equipment.

Contains one notable inaccuracy (my bad for not researching properly) but judging by the comments a lot of people feel this way about HP test gear, and the HP name. I guess the company is going in new directions now but for a time without Bill and Dave at the helm they lost their way a bit. One can see similar things with Apple and Steve Jobs. All these guys were a rare breed who had one thing - Vision - that has been lacking in some of their successors.

I have an HP 34401A DMM that's 21+ years old, and an HP LaserJet 4P that's 19 years old. The printer is going to outlast the supply of toner, which you can't get from HP anymore. There are third parties that still sell it. I just bought three HP toner cartridges.

There are plenty of test instruments still us use with the HP name on them.

@Junko - that was my main point - HP test equipment, and then laser printers - were legendary. I'd have kept the HP name for the Test equipment, and renamed the PC line. And I'd have leveraged off the name... "xxxxx - a division of HP".

But the bean counters always have other ideas. But I do hope that the new vernture succeeds - knowing the roots in Bill & Dave's garage, it would be nice to see HP - or what it's become - regain its former glory.